narutofanmakersfandomcom-20200215-history
Haunting Figure
Howling Wind "Onee-chan!!" Akane whined. "C'mon you said you'd practice with me today!" "I'll be there in a second! What's the weather out there?!" Was the voice that came back to her. "Clear as crystal!" Akane called back. "Damn..." The elder girl swore violently under her breath, even as she slipped in her usual clothing. The revelation of the weather didn't suit too well with her. She had hoped for a more cloudy day, where the sun would be less harsh on her. But, as it was, it was going to be a major problem fighting in the outside. It didn't help that she had woken up at a severely later time then she usually did. Now, with the rest of the family ahead of her, she was very disgruntled and disoriented at the moment as she struggled to ready herself. Thankfully, she was a quick preparer, having only done so in minutes. Curse her for making such a promise so early in the day... Currently, she was wearing her favorite-color kimono (with her usual pants underneath). In one of her hands was a straw hat, hiding her bun-tied hair for the moment. It wasn't the best practice attire, but it would do. Her usual outfit was in the wash. With herself finally ready, she pushed herself out of her room and out of the house. Akane laughed as her sister walked outside. "You look kinda mad Onee-chan." "I ain't mad, you little git." Michiyo grumbled, shutting the door behind her. She didn't yet put herself out into the sun, choosing to sit on the porch for a moment. "Where's Kaa-san and Tou-san?" "They're...in their room." She said pointedly. "Ah! Then I guess we're free for the moment!" Michiyo said immediately, a wide grin appearing on her face. "Though, I regret Kaa-san not dying my hair just yet..." She frowned slightly, folding her arms across her chest. Akane walked up to her sister. "On the subject of your hair it needs to be straightened Onee-chan!" She moved her hand up to her sister's hand began to try and make it lie flat. "Why didn't you do this before you got out here?" "Oi! Don't touch the hat!" Michiyo exclaimed, shooing the girl's hand away. "It gets straight when I untie it, anyway..." She turned her head away from Akane for a moment, leaned forward, and took off the straw hat while reaching behind her head. Her fingers quickly untied the pink bows that held her bun in place. When she raised it up, no longer did she hold the color purple in her hair. Now, those flowing locks consisting of the false white color, hanging from her shoulders in a smooth, straight, and wavy way. She squinted her eyes and smiled at her sister, raising one hand to push a lock of hair up. "See? It's fine..." "Just trying to help." Akane said. "Now C'mon you said you'd train me today!" "Oh!" That was when a rather sheepish expression appeared on Michiyo's face, and she couldn't help but chuckle, raising a hand to the side of her face. "Oh, dear... I'm so very sorry, imouto!" She apologized sincerely, hoping not to make the child upset. "But we'll have to do that later on in the day. For now, I've got an appointment to catch!" "You promised you'd train with me though." Akane pouted. "And I'll stick to it." Michiyo assured. "Though, you're welcome to come along with me for the moment..." Calmly, she stood up, once again picking up her straw hat and placing it on her head. Akane's eyes lit up. "I can come with??" She asked, looking delighted. "Mhm." With a calm gait, she started to walk away, looking at Akane over her shoulder. "Well, c'mon, if you don't wanna be left behind!" Akane ran to catch up with her sister. "I'll come I'll come!" She said happily. "What are you heading out for?" "Today's my initiation for the position of ANBU...Kaa-san recommended it." Michiyo explained, the pride clearly showing on her face. "She had said the missions involved missions closer to military-related events, such as negotiation between villages, target capturing, and assassination missions." "Didn't Tou-san turn down the ANBU when they recruited him?" Akane asked. "Well, of course..." The elder had to agree. "Otherwise, he'd probably be taking this trip with me." She chuckled. "Probably Kaa-san, too..." "Tou-san and Kaa-san are rather..busy." Akane replied. "So they can't come with us. But why the ANBU of all things?" "First off..." With a rather reprimanding intention, Michiyo reached over and poked Akane gently in the head. "You idiot..." She chided. "When did I start asking why they aren't with us right now? Secondly, this is a rather good chance to prove myself as a shinobi." "Why not just be a regular Shinobi, Onee-chan?" Akane asked. "What if the ANBU make you do alot of missions?? Then we won't get to play as much." "Don't sweat it! I said before, I'm never too busy to hang out with my im--" Then, she was abruptly cut off by another figure bumping roughly against her. "Oto!!" She let out a startled yelp as she fell down on her butt, having not looked up enough to see the man bump into her. Dimly, she heard another yelp come from her "assaulter", one that was obviously masculine. "Ow..." She groaned, raising one hand to place on her straw hat. "That hurt..." "S...sorry, miss!" When she looked upwards again, the figure that had bumped her was now standing over her, one of his hands extended towards her. From the looks of it, it appeared as though he was a little before 20 years old. Short, black hair with a purplish tint to it, ocean blue eyes, and skin as pale as hers was. He was wearing a light blue gi and darker blue hakama that reached just below the knee. From there, greenish leg-guards covered the rest of his leg skin. It was as if he was a male mirror of her. "Are you all right?" He asked, his eyes in a squint, and a smile decorating his features. Chuckling in reply, the female managed to reach out and grasp his hand, allowing him to pull her back up on her feet. "I'll live..." She assured. Akane glared at the man, but said nothing. "I'm sorry..." The man once again apologized, holding up a small book in his other hand. "I was just so interested in reading this story, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going..." "Ah!" Michiyo put on a rather cheerful expression on her own. "No problem, I was simply talking to my little sister about something. I guess I wasn't paying attention, either!" "Onee-chan!" Akane whispered earnestly. "This guy gives me bad vibes!" "Eh?" Thankfully, only the elder sister had heard it, and therefore leaned over to her level. "What do ya mean? He seems nice enough!" She whispered back. "Can't you feel it?" She whispered back. "There's something about him. Let's just get moving!!" She sounded rather fearful. Normally, the elder would've refused such an illogical request. But, the fear in her imouto's voice was clear, undeniable, and stubborn to be heard within her ears. She was no cruel woman, that was for sure, so she certainly would not be so cruel as to ignore the pleas. Looking upwards, she looked back towards the man who looked at them in question. "Sorry, sir. I'd love to talk more, but we both have an appointment to catch. I do hope we meet again, though!" She began to walk off once more, a bit nervous of the time she had wasted, when... "Uh, excuse me!" The man had called out once again towards her to stop her in her tracks. She looked over her shoulder at him, finding a kinder smile on his face. "Just in case we do... what's your name?" The girl paused for a moment, before replying simply, "Tenno Michiyo." "Soujirou Okita." He said back, turning his back on the two and walking away. "And, sorry once again for pushing you like that!" Then, after a few seconds, he had disappeared into the newly-forming crowd of people bustling through the streets. Akane shuddered and stood a little closer to her sister. "Onee-chan that man is creepy. I hope we don't meet him again." Michiyo could only stare on skeptically, before shaking her head in disbelief. "I think you've just been hanging around the family too much..." She teased, starting herself off and walking in the direction of her destination once more. "C'mon. God knows I'm late..." Reunion It had been late on in the afternoon, and Michiyo was just about to return from her tests. The rest of the family had occupied themselves while waiting for her return - Chiaki had taken the liberty of temporarily practicing with Akane in order to ease both of their impatience. And, like Michiyo, she knew how to keep the 12-year-old on her toes. Akane was dodging her mother's attacks, and she hastily moved to the left and coated her fist in flame. "Kaa-san take this!" She cried aiming a punch at Chiaki. Of course, Chiaki was not Michiyo. Being an experienced ANBU, she wasn't one to immediately dodge the attack if it was seemingly unblockable. She always took herself to stick to unorthodox methods of combat, in order to keep the enemy bewilldered. This time was no different. She crouched low, all fingers together and pointed straight on one hand. She thrusted that hand forward, so that it was parallel with Akane's oncoming fist. Her hand glowed a bright blue with her own raw chakra... Then, when those hands passed each other, the fire encasing Akane's fist had vanished into thin air. With her arm clear, Chiaki grasped her daughter's wrist and squeezed tightly, in defiant refusal to let go. "Don't you think you should slow down on those Fire techniques, kid?" She asked calmly. "They take up an awful lot of chakra..." "For you maybe." Akane replied. "For me..." She set her own arm ablaze. "It's easy!" Chiaki's eyes immediately half-lidded. "Good grief..." Thanks to her not letting up on her own chakra, her hand had kept itself from being severely burned, though she could still feel the heat against the nerves of her skin. "What's easy?" She questioned. "Controlling those abilities? That may be so, but when it comes to stamina and such... you're overstepping your limits." Then, her gripping hand began to glow even brighter, and her chakra was sent down through the girl's body. It began to assault the nervous system, flooding the senses with nothing but pain. "Unless you were born like a Jinchuuriki, using such techniques consistently will put you to exhaustion quickly." She explained. "If this was a real-life combat situation, you'd easily be killed." Then, reaching over to grip Akane's arm with two glowing hands, Chiaki swung herself around and tossed the girl away. Akane hit the ground writhing and screaming in pain. It felt as if her very nerves were on fire. "Now, as you are... I could easily finish you off..." Slowly, Chiaki walked over to kneel over Akane, raising her hand once more to press on her arm. Once again, her hand began to glow, but not with the intent to harm - the immediate pain that Akane had felt was rapidly vanishing. "Try to keep what you experienced in mind, musume. It'll help later..." At that moment, voices were heard outside of the door that led to the rest of the village. "...know you liked reading history." "I prefer to keep with the times, but the past has its own interests as well..." The first voice was obviously the one of Akane's elder sister. But there was a male voice accompanying it, revealing that she had a companion with her. "Hm?" Chiaki cocked an eyebrow in puzzlement, raising herself up to look towards the door with curiosity. Akane sat up, grumbling unintelligibly. "All right, here's my house." "Very well... I'll see you tomorrow, hopefully?" Then, the door finally opened, revealing the sources of the two voices. Michiyo allowed herself to step through, what looked like a textbook at hand. "My apologies for being late!" She said immediately. "I ran into someone while walking past the library, and..." It had been the same man from before. The same one who Akane had apparated the terrible feeling about. The same one who had now accompanied her sister back home. Akane's eyes widened and she quickly moved to hide behind her father. "Not him again.." She murmured, and she was shaking like she had been on the ground only moments before though, this time it was with fear, not pain. That was when his ocean blue eyes turned, locking their next target straight on the cowering Akane and Ahatake. The stare they gave off seemed to be quite intense, almost as if he was looking directly through them. Then, a ghost of a smile came across his face, and he turned his back, giving one last wave towards the rest of them. Then, he turned and disappeared out of their sight, his distant footsteps echoing throughout the streets. Ahatake's face had darkened and the aura of anger he was giving off could be felt by everyone in the room. "What in the...? Ahat--" Both Michiyo and Chiaki had turned towards the source of the sudden chill in the air, but none of them would've expected where it was coming from. Ahatake. This was one of the rare moments in which Chiaki's rough-rider mood had faltered. A bead of sweat fell down her face, as she gazed on in astonishment at her husband. Only one coherent thought formed in her mind, "That guy... you've met him before, haven't you?" Needless to say, Michiyo wasn't her mother. Upon feeling her father's unfocused killing intent seeping into the room, as well as seeing his darkened face, she felt tension creep into her very soul, her own expression one of warinessr. "T...tou-san...?" She managed, looking into his shadowed eyes fearfully. "I know that one." Ahatake hissed. "He tried to kill me that night I had just become head of the Tenno Clan. I was wondering when he'd show his face around here again." Immediately, Michiyo's heart skipped a beat. "W...what?!" "What're you talking about?" Chiaki asked gruffly, folding her arms across her chest and giving her husband a rather confused look. "I've never heard of something happening like that before...." Akane looked at her father as he spoke. "It was when I was about 15-16." He explained. "My father had appointed me head of the Tenno Clan. Being that young I was automatically excited and eager. I was filing some paper's when I was attacked by surprise. It was dark and I hadn't glimpsed his face, only his headband. I managed to fend him off, but the Hokage called a meeting about the attack. The man chose that meeting as where we would strike next, and he killed two body guards, and fled, but not before I glimpsed his face. That was him." "Th...that can't be right!" A protest was made from Michiyo herself, a hand raised, and an expression matching her words. "He wasn't even armed, and he seemed too nice when I met up with him! Surely, you can't be serious about him being your attacker!!" Unknown to her, she had accidentally raised her voice a little as she spoke. "It's him alright." Ahatake replied. "It's hard to forget someone who both tried to kill you, and slaughtered comrades before your eyes." At that, Michiyo remained silent, her expression still one of wariness. She couldn't bring herself to say anything against her father any more, for she herself was unsure now. Chiaki's expression was one of thoughtfulness, even as she stared at Ahatake. "So, what are you...we... gonna do about it?" "Do you want to kill him, Tou-san?" Akane asked tentatively. "That is my intention yes." Ahatake replied. "Wait!" Michiyo brought herself to protest again. "Think rationally about this! Maybe he's changed!" "I doubt it." Ahatake said harshly. "What makes you think he's changed?" She couldn't bring herself to say anymore. His harsh tone once again brought down her defense, and she could do nothing but look down slightly. Her mouth refused to move any more. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go find him now." Ahatake said, and he began to fade with flames from his legs up. "You're welcome to come join me." He said before was completely consumed. Michiyo looked at her solemn-looking mother pleadingly. "We have to do something!" She protested. "Whether Okita is innocent or not, there's a possibility he's an innocent bystander in the eyes of the other villagers! If we don't stop 'em..." To her dismay, Chiaki simply shrugged. "Ahatake's been a clan leader for quite a while. Don't worry... he knows what he's doing when it comes to situations like this..." Michiyo was praying in her mind that she was right... Wild Dogs Don't Lie Ahatake reappeared in a forest clearing and immediately started to run. "The fool can't be that far." He quickly formed signs and summoned a Phoenix. "Search the surrounding for him." He said and the bird took off, flying fast. It wouldn't have to go far. Next to the forest, there was a path where a lone figure was trekking on. He looked as if he was out for a simple stroll, squinted eyes and a smile plastered onto his countenance. However, this time, a sheathed sword was secured to the obi around his waist, marking him instantly as a swordsman. There was no denying it now. He was a shinobi. With twitching ears, he heard the sound of wings flapping, his expression turning to once of surprise. He turned his head up, only to see a red and firey-looking bird flying directly above his position. His mouth curved downward to a slight frown. "I suppose it would be bad if I continued to delay... I'd better get out of here, fast." He thought, turning his face back towards the road. A small part of him believed that the bird did not yet recognize him, which fueled him to keep on his "strolling" facade. The bird turned around and flew back the way it came landing on the waiting Ahatake's shoulders. "You found him?" Ahatake asked. The bird nodded. "Good. Lead me to him." The bird to flight and Ahatake followed it. When that very same bird returned, the man half-lidded his eyes knowingly. "I guess it's time for me to haul it." He said quietly, putting on a small smile as he looked over behind his back. "If I'm fast enough..." Then, his figure vanished out of existence. The next time it appeared, it was running through the forest tree-tops. He kept disappearing and reappearing at random intervals, each time fading into vision as a running and jumping figure. Each time he performed this "teleportation", he was always a sizable distance away from where he had been before. And during all this, his movements were deathly silent, the sound of a whisper being heard each time he teleported. He wasn't called Kiri no Naka no Yūrei for nothing. Ahatake sighed. How long would it take to find this guy? Or would he have to wait until the man found him? The chakra presence was fading bit-by-bit behind him. He was evading his pursuer. His eyebrows furrowing slightly, he kept up his speed, clearly on his way to successfully fleeing the ninja behind him. "Almost there..." Ahatake sighed. "Time to up the ante." He murmured and he increased his speed, and everything in his line of sight was a blur. It was almost as if the presence had read Okita's thoughts. Once again, the man's eyes widened, and he looked behind him to sense the oncoming chakra presence rapidly approaching. "So..." He thought, in slight reluctance. "I guess I won't be getting there on time, after all." Seeing as the ninja was getting closer and closer, he made the decision not to go forward, but to conserve his energy: he leaped off the branch and landed right on his feet, turning around and waiting for the man to appear before his eyes. Ahatake could barely see a figure up ahead and stopped 3 feet from it. The moment his vision cleared, he saw who it was. "You." He growled. "Tenno-sama!" Once again, the warm smile had formed onto Okita's face, and his ocean blue eyes stared into Ahatake's own. "I'm glad to see you're doing well, just like your family..." He looked up at the bird. "I have to compliment you for keeping up with my speed. Then again, I expected nothing less from a clan leader, don't you agree?" The bird landed Ahatake's shoulder as Ahatake punched Okita in the face. The blow had forced Okita's view to the left, a small trickle of blood coming from his mouth. His eyes half-lidded in a seemingly solemn stare, the smile having faded from his face. "That was rude, Tenno-sama." He said, turning his head back. "I was merely giving you a compliment." "What's rude is attacking someone in the middle of the night." Ahatake replied sourly. "What's rude is killing two of my comrades during a meeting." "Ah!" A small smile forced on Okita's mouth. "You got me there!" He admitted. Ahatake looked livid. "I'm here to kill you, I hope you know that." "Of course." The blue-clad man calmly raised a thumb towards the blood at the corner of his mouth and wiped it off. "You're here to avenge your fallen comrades. To rip off my hands that are covered in their blood. Even when I look at your nostalgic face, it's too clear to me." He squinted his eyes shut once more. "Does it hurt, Tenno-sama... to know that I killed your comrades?" "It hurts that I wasn't able to stop you." Ahatake replied, growling. He drew his sword. "It's time for your execution." In understanding, Okita nodded. Then, he spread his feet apeart, drawing his own sword and settling into a defensive stance of his own. "So it is... but can your sword reach me?" He questioned. "Let's find out..." There was no hint of hesitation in his stance, and none in his facial features. He still wore that smile on his face, as well as those gentle eyes. Despite the fact that he was wielding a killer's weapon, he didn't seem too phased by the fact that he could die. Even against Ahatake's anger, there would be no fear for the ghost. "Please come at me. After all, you are the challenger." Ahatake charged at him and raised his blade, swinging it down on Okita's head. With his hand on the back of the blade, Okita raised his sword up towards Ahatake's in order to keep the attack from cleaving him in two. But, in a millisecond when the swords clanged, he twisted his feet and body around in a 360-degree spin, the momentum adding a small amount of attack power behind his own katana. Now, his own sword came like a horizontal guillotine, straight for Ahatake's near ribcage. Ahatake's eyes widened and he quickly used his blade to block it and moved back, panting. If that attack had hit it wouldn't have looked good. The second it took for Ahatake to move back was all that was needed for Okita himself to push forward. He charged, crouching a bit while doing so. With one hand gripping the hilt of his katana, he lunged forward, slamming his open palm into the ground. With a thrust, he sent himself in a spin flip, moving in an arc closely over Ahatake's head. The deadly weapon whirred wildly and in a frightening manner, threatening to slice through the man's neck. Ahatake ducked, and swung his katana at the man's legs, intending to lop them off. Immediately after he landed, Okita performed a short jump, just enough to avoid the katana's teeth. But, not only did he evade, but now his mid-air feet were in a perfect position for a drop kick. Wasting no time, he thrust them towards Ahatake's chest before he could pull the katana back. The kick sent Ahatake back a ways, but he caught himself quickly, and sent a fireball at Okita. Using his superhuman speed, Okita once again applied his "teleportation", vanishing out of the fireball's path and re-appearing right beside it. With another burst of speed, he hurled himself at the Tenno leader like a rocket, sword poised to strike once more. And his mirthful expression still had not faltered. "Now!!" Ahatake cried and he vanished in a burst of flame right before the sword would have pierced him. "Wow!" Having hit nothing but flames, Okita lowered his sword blade to his side and looked around. His blue eyes continued to search around, his senses searching for Ahatake's chakra. "You managed to see my movements... I'm impressed!" He said in praise. A orange-red glow appeared above him and Ahatake appeared out of another mass of flames, swinging his blade down like the guillotine scythe. CLANG! It swung right into Okita's, forcing a swordlock between the two combatants. During this, Okita himself took the time to stare into Ahatake's eyes once more. "Surely... you can't bring yourself to hate me so much." He stated quietly. "What makes you say that?" "The people I killed that very day. Did you know any of them? If not, then why do you seek to avenge their deaths? There is no point in raising a blade to avenge... if you do not know them at all." Then, he broke the sword lock by leaping back. "There is no vengeance in the blade you swing, as of now." He continued to speak dryly, with a slight bit of mirth to it. "No matter how much your mind desires to kill me... unless you have that feeling of vengance as your catalyst, your body won't act." Then, in a surprise move, he twisted his sword around and sheathed it with a hiss-and-snap, leaving one hand gripped behind the base of the hilt. "You can pretend to be a hero and continue to raise your blade against me pointlessly..." He stated. "Or you can go home, and forget about avenging total strangers." Ahatake laughed. "Those two were my former teammates. And because you attacked me in the middle of the night, that's two reasons right there to kill you." Okita closed his eyes, seemingly lost in his own thoughts. "Ah... but did you know what they were thinking that very day? Did you ever think that, maybe, just maybe, they knew they were going to die? That maybe they held no regrets about it? Before you declare your vengeance on me... you should be asking yourself those questions." "Then I still have one reason." Ahatake replied. "Abandon it. You are considered to be of high status and popularity. There will be many who will appreciate your rule, and many who will despise it with a passion. Being immune to attacks such as my own is impossible." Okita opened his eyes once more. "If the ones that despise you are of your own nationality, of your own affiliation, would you kill them, as well?" "Is it any of your business?" Ahatake asked, throwing an explosive kunai at him. "Yes." Once again, he used his speed to avoid it, along with the subsequent explosion that lit up the area. "Because I'' just might be of your affiliation." He stated calmly. "It ''has been a few years since we've seen each other... so I doubt you know whose side I'm on now." "Your point?" Ahatake asked. "I'm still gonna kill ya!" A sigh of disappointment was heard from the blue-clad man, but he remained firm. "Then by all means, Tenno-sama." He welcomed. "Come at me with the intent to kill." Ahatake scowled. "I intend to." He charged at Okita and swung his blade up at him. Perfect. The smile fell back onto his face, even as Ahatake charged at him with the intentions of giving him an early death. With his sword sheathed, it gave the vision of two movements he would make: dodging, or attempt to catch the blade with his bare hand. With the distance between him closed, he would not get enough time to perform the Substitution Jutsu or dodge the attack. The bait would be taken. When Ahatake's blade swung down on him, he was no longer at that spot. But now, his presence could be felt right behind him, his blade now fully drawn out. With squinted eyes, he looked over his shoulder at his opponent, the smile having returned to his features. "Battōjutsu." As he once again sheathed his blade, crimson liquid came from Ahatake's left shoulder, the cut forming from the front all the way down to the back, signaling the cut had been deep. "Shuntensatsu." He finished. "It is my second strongest attack of my arsenal. The only way to have evaded it was to be at at a longer range. Had you used your own speed, you may have been able to withstand it...but you're too late now." He opened his eyes once more. "I'm sorry it had to end this way. Maybe next time, you'll be better prepared to face me..." "Who...w..who say's..we're done here?" Ahatake asked, struggling to keep himself up. "Why, the wound through your torso, of course!" Now the man was once again sounding friendly. Once again, he turned towards Ahatake once more, raising the blade over his head. It gleamed in the sunlight, bloodied tip ready to strike down once more. Even Okita's mirthful expression seemed frightening under its shadow. "Right now, I'm in a perfect position to finish you off, Tenno-sama. Back off, or die. Your choice." Ahatake laughed. "Sirius...now.." He coughed and the bird spread it's wings wide, and cast it's feathers over Ahatake. The moment the feathers touched him, the bird vanished in a burst of flames and Ahatake's wound has healed itself completely. "I believe you were saying something?" Now it was back to where it was started. A slight frown appeared over Okita's face, even as he took a few steps back. His sword lowered once again to his side, blood dripping from the tip. That blow had meant to finish him off immediately in order to break the stalemate and allow for a perfect exit. But now, as the move's nature was now revealed to him, he couldn't utilize a surprise attack with it anymore. If he kept this up, it would possibly end up with both of them weakened. Or worse. In either case... In less than a second, Okita's figure had once again vanished away from Ahatake and up in the tree-tops a distance away. His sword was once again sheathed, and he looked down on Ahatake with a newfound kind expression on his face. "I'm retreating for now. Feel free to give chase if you want..." He called out. "But even with your speed, the ghost of the Mist you will never catch!" With that, his figure promptly vanished into thin air, leaving Ahatake to stand alone. Ahatake growled. "Dammit! DAMMIT!" He punched the ground with his fist. He heard laughter from what he thought was in the distance, but payed it no mind. He vanished in a burst of flames, reappearing at his house. It was no surprise that the rest of the family was there, waiting for his arrival with mixed reactions. Michiyo was obviously nervous, looking at her father with wariness in her eyes. Chiaki was staring with half-lidded eyes, betraying nothing. It was ultimately she who decided to speak up. "So...?" Ahatake looked at them all and spoke. "He got away." Michiyo almost breathed a sigh of relief, but she was able to restrain herself. Chiaki cocked an eyebrow, but said nothing otherwise. "I still intend to kill him." He said, almost only to Michiyo. However, it didn't deter Michiyo any. After all, he was a shinobi... he could handle himself, if he managed to survive the first encounter... "I didn't manage to use full power." Ahatake said, unconsciously moving his hand towards his neck. "I don't think he did either however." He grinned. "This might be fun though." Chiaki smirked. "Well, then, if it's that fun, how bout you let me take a shot at 'im? Wouldn't want you taking it all away..." Ahatake laughed. "No." He replied. "He's mine to kill." "Tou-san what's on your neck anyway?" Akane asked. "What do you mean?" Ahatake asked. "You reached towards your neck when you spoke Tou-san." Akane said in a reminding tone. "It's a Cursed Seal." Ahatake replied. "Heaven Model. Your mother's..seen it before." "Oh, really? I was too distracted looking at your--" Thankfully, Chiaki never got to finish that sentence, as Michiyo had immediately clamped a hand over her mouth. "Mom!" She scolded. "Akane's here!" "What??" Akane said. "What was she gonna say??" "Ah--eh--nothing, nothing! Right, Kaa-san?" Michiyo emphasized this with a glaring wink, to which Chiaki felt a bead of sweat drip down the back of her head. "Uh, sure..." She muttered, just to humor her daughter. "No fair!" Akane said. "I wanna know too!" "You're too young to know that type of stuff!" Akane sat on the floor with a pouting expression. "Anyway...Tou-san, are you all right? Are you wounded?" Michiyo immediately turned back towards her father, slowly walking towards him. "If you are..." "I'm fine." Ahatake replied. "Sirius healed me in no time." "No wonder he's uninjured..." Michiyo thought to herself. "Well, that's good, then. At least the birds are watching your back..." With a motion, she walked over towards the door. "So, what's to say we go in and fix some dinner? I don't know about you all, but I'm starving!" "Sounds good to me... I'm cooking." Chiaki said immediately, putting on a grin as she followed. Akane jumped onto her sister's back before she could move any further. " Oh no! You're spending time with me first Onee-chan!" She said and dragged her sister out of the house. "Since when?! And stop pulling my hair!!" Ahatake smiled, and momentarily flame like marking's spread over his face, but receded as quickly as they had come. "Guys..I'll avenge you.." He thought as he went outside to watch the siblings go at it. "I'll make him pay.." ' The End ' Next